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120 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S The AsAro mUdmen come from just outside the village of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. legend has it that they were defeated by an enemy tribe and forced to flee into the Asaro River. They waited until dusk before attempting to escape, and when the enemy saw them rise from the streambanks covered in mud, they thought they were spirits. The tribes of Papua New Guinea are very superstitious, so the Asaro's enemy fled in fear back to their village where they held a special ceremony to ward off the spirits. Tribal legend says that mud from the Asaro River is poisonous, so they fashioned pottery-like masks from crushed pebbles that were heated, shaped, and carved into terrifying faces. oPPoSITE: Perhaps no tribe has captured the admiration of outsiders like the mAsAI. Their tall, slender, and gaunt forms, clad in red, stand in stark contrast to the snow-covered peaks of mount kilimanjaro. They are proud, nomadic warriors whose legendary prowess in battle and fabled fights with lions were applauded in the writings of Hemingway, Ruark, and Roosevelt. The masai's ancestors most likely originated in northern Africa, but they eventually migrated to southern kenya and northern Tanzania across the arid lands of the Great Rift Valley. from boyhood, masai males are taught to be warriors. killing a lion single-handedly was a right of passage for a boy to be accepted as a man. masai men are known for their leaping dance, or adumu, in which they jump high into the air to display their strength and stamina. masai tribesmen are excellent herders who measure wealth by the number of cattle and children they have. Their god, Ngai, is the creator of everything. In the beginning, Ngai was one with the sky and the earth, and owned all the cattle living on it. However, one day the earth and the sky separated, and Ngai was no longer earthbound. To prevent his cattle from dying, he sent his herds to the masai to look after them. All of the masai's needs for food are met by their cattle. They eat the meat, drink the milk and even the blood on occasion. Photo © Jimmy NelsoN Pictures BV, www.JimmyNelsoN.com, www.faceBook.com/Jimmy.NelsoN.official